[MalReynolds]

McGinley’s house was a garish number, situated beside his office in the large dip that was the center of the small town. Painted bright red, it hurt my eyes to look at it. Didn’t exactly scream practicality or subtlety, although, it’s good it didn’t scream subtlety. Oxymoron, you see?

“Oh, I didn’t paint the house this color. I bought it off of the last town leader. He had a real penchant for the color red. And apples. My house constantly smells like apples now.�

“How did you become leader?� Teller asked.

“The old mayor left. Didn’t say a word, just picked up stakes and went off to live with the natives. Sold me this house dirt cheap, too. Good man. Don’t know why he would run off like that.�

As I stepped into the house, I shuddered. It all seemed so artificial, book cases filled with books McGinley had never touched, picture frames with photos in them of people he had never seen… It looked as if he had taken the old mayor’s decorations as well. Something wasn’t sitting right with me. Why would the old mayor leave everything in this house? Especially pictures of family…

“I haven’t had a chance to redecorate,� McGinley said, seemingly reading my mind. Every time I had a question, he was ahead of the game, ready to answer.

“I’ve been so busy over the last few weeks that redecorating has really been impossible. The only thing I’ve managed to do over is my guest room. Belonged to the old mayor’s son. His son left with him, but he didn’t have much say in the matter. He was a little boy, only six. He was one when he moved here. You all will be staying in that room tonight.� McGinley pointed down the hallway to the last door on the left. “You all have to be up bright and early tomorrow. The Guild usually likes fresh people. Make it look like the trip down the stairs was no problem, shows you got stamina. They need people with stamina. After the meeting, come get me. I’m going to be in my office next door and we’ll talk about getting you two a house. I’ll talk to you two later.� McGinley turned around, walking down the opposite hallway, crouching in front of the fireplace and lighting a log.

Teller made his way down the hallway, staggering. He was dead tired. I was dead tired as well, but the trip took more out of him. Teller was usually weaker, unaccustomed to hard physical work. The bedroom also smelled of apples, the window outside painted shut. There were two beds, surprisingly.

“Why would there be two beds if the man only had one son?�

Teller didn’t answer. He was too busy making his way over to the bed on the right and passing out.

“Good idea, Teller,� I said, walking over to the other bed on the opposite side of the room. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

-

I was awakened the next morning by McGinley pounding on the bedroom door.

“You have The Guild meeting in ten minutes, boys. Get up, get up!�

Teller was already up, strapping his boots on. “That was refreshing… While it lasted,� he coughed weakly.

“Alright, Teller, let me do all the talking at the meeting, alright? You sound really tired. You heard McGinley, too, they’re looking for strong people, people with stamina.�

“I thought you said this was a technicality, man!�

“Hey! Better safe than sorry. Better to err on the side of caution, right?�

“I guess.�

“Alright, good. Lets go.�

The sun poured over the town, and the second I stepped out the door I got my first clear view of the buildings. Smaller, cramped. The streets were lined with buildings, but “streets� wasn’t the right word. They were nothing but alleyways, cramped, the buildings pushing inwards.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call it claustrophobic; despite the proximity between the buildings, there was a very homely feel to the place. The walls of each building were bare, true, but that was to catch sunlight for heat. It had been cold at the top of Halfway Mountain and the town had a warmth to it that I had never felt before. It felt like a home.

Teller and I made our way down the street to the main road which was considerably wider. There were friendly storefronts, cart operators selling fruit, jewelry and other items. This had to be the industrial district of the small town, McGinley’s house resting in an offshoot of the profit zone. Everything was just thirty yards away for that man. I was impressed.

The Guild building was the only building I had seen thus far that looked actually ominous, although I think that was due more to the fear of not being able to land a job than anything else. I went in first, holding the wooden door for Teller who had broken out into a cold sweat. Sure, if we didn’t get these jobs, we could always sell fruit or go home, although that second option wasn’t too appealing.

There was a reception area, complete with wooden desk and a fairly attractive woman sitting behind it. Her hair fell over her eyes which were adorned by thick glasses. She was “librarian� cute, not cute in the traditional sense.

Teller walked up, smoothly. “Hello, Miss, we’re here for the interview?�

“Oh. Go right in. You’re running late…�

“We are?� I asked, stepping forward. She shyly smiled at me.

“Yes, they seem to be pretty angry about it.�

“Godammit,� I muttered under my breath as I grabbed Teller’s arm. We stepped into a hallway, jogging down the corridor and at the end, stepping through the large wooden double doors.

McGinley was seated at the head of the long table. There were six men sitting at one side of the table, six women on the other side, McGinley in the middle. These women didn’t have bookish good looks. They weren’t even remotely cute. They could have been, once, but years of beurocracy had hardened their exterior.

The men looked like they lived for pumping iron and yelling at people who were inferior. I didn’t have a problem with this. I knew that if I was half as built as some of these men that I would probably do the same thing.

“You’re late, boys,� McGinley called out from across the room.

“We’re not late. I don’t know why you’re saying that. We’re three minutes early,� I paused. “Sir,� I added quickly.

“Early is on time, on time is late, and late is completely unacceptable,� he said, grinning.

“Clever.�

“So, why do you two think you’d be good for the Mining Guild? Please answer carefully; you already have one strike for being late.�

“On time.�

“Potahto.�

“Well, on the tenth day of our trip out west, we managed to take out a wild squad of natives who were intent on hunting us down, using our ingenuity, we subdued at least,� time for a reasonable like, “twenty before passing out on the mountain. You also have to realize, moving a boulder that size was quite a feat and would exhaust many of the men seated at the table. Some of the women, too.� They didn’t laugh. Ouch.

“What does that demonstrate about you two?�

“That we’re capable of creating solutions to large problems, and we have the power to stay in the game.�

McGinley smiled a full smile, revealing browned teeth. “What about the other young man? Can he not speak for himself?�

“He can, but he gets nervous speaking to crowds.�

“Well, we can’t have someone-“

“With all due respect, sir, when in this job is he going to need to speak to a large group of people? When is he going to be fighting for a job with six large, scary men and six larger, scarier women?�

McGinley guffawed, acting as a cue for everyone else in the room to laugh with him.

“Excellent, excellent. Please step outside while we deliberate.�

The door to the boardroom shut, the lock clicking as Teller and I took seats on opposite ends of the hallway.

“Well… That could have gone a little better,� Teller smiled.

“Oh, you think so? Friendly town, but…�

“But what?�

“McGinley? That’s just bizarre. How did he get here faster than us?�

“I don’t know. He knows his way around town a little better, and we didn’t exactly have directions. We followed the flow of business.�

“True. I don’t know. Something just isn’t sitting right with me. Didn’t he say last night that this was all just some little hang up? A formality?�

“If he did, I was passed out for it. You were the one that told me this was a technicality.�

True. Teller had been hanging over the McGinley’s shoulder when he had been describing the “interview.�

“Alright, well, at least we know that-“

The door swung open, cutting off my words. McGinley stood in the door frame, smirking. “You all have the job. Now, follow me to my office. We have some matters to discuss.�

“When do we start? From what I saw, there were quite a few crystals… We could make a fair shake at this.�

“Don’t get so ahead of yourself, we still have things to discuss.� McGinley clapped me on the shoulder, escorting me out of the building. I didn’t get a chance to turn around and flash a winning smile at the receptionist, McGinley was too busy pushing us down into his office.

The seats in his office were slightly more comfortable than the seats outside of the boardroom. They were covered with a fine substance, soft to the touch and softer to sit on.

“I can see you’re admiring the chairs,� the tall man said, making his way around the desk, taking his own seat behind the wooden table. He picked a quill up from out of the middle drawer, removing a sheet of paper from another.

“Those chairs are from my personal collection. I figured, I spend so much time working, why not furnish my office and make it more homely?�

“I see,� I said. Teller was silent.

“Alright, boys, you all need a place to live, correct?�

“Yes, sir.�

“Excellent.� He jotted something down on the paper. “What price range are we looking at?�

“Cheapest thing you have.�

McGinley laughed at this. “We do have some cheap property.�

“Give us the address and we’ll start working off the debt immediately.�

“You boys have to sign these papers, first. One is a deed to the house, the other is a loan statement. A bunch of lawyer jargon, percent, interest and the like. Just sign both of those and I can take you to your new house.�

I signed first, scanning both documents briefly. Teller didn’t even glance at them, he signed with closed eyes.

The next thing we knew, we were being escorted down a busy street towards the Mountain. The closer we got to the Mountain, the smaller the houses became until they looked like large boxes, shifting with the acrid air that was coming out of the mines.

I knew it was our house. I didn’t even need to look inside. It was in the row closest to the Mountain, the roof partially collapsed. The front door swung open to reveal a singe room divided by a curtain with a wash area in the back. Two straw mats sat on opposite ends of the room. I approached the sink. It didn’t work.

“Utilities, boys. You have to pay for em’. You have to meet up at the Mining Guild tomorrow to rent your equipment at 9 A.M tomorrow. Just be sure to be there ‘on time’ and not late again. They really don’t like people running late.� McGinley made his way to the door.

“Wait, sir? I have a few questions.� I was willing to let McGinley leave, but Teller wasn’t, apparently.

“Yes, Teller?�

“I took some money from home. This is 200-square. How much square does it take to get the water running?�

McGinley sighed. “150 a month.�

Teller dug into his pocket, pulling the pouch out. He threw it over to McGinley who, in one fluid motion, caught it and emptied the coins into his palm.

“This isn’t enough.�

“That’s 200 right there!�

“200 square, I know. It’ll take 150 machts.�

“What the hell are ‘machts’!?�

“Take the square to the exchange office tomorrow. They’ll give you 100 machts. It’s the currency for this town.�

“I thought there as a national currency?�

“That’s not how we run things around here, Teller.�

There was a long pause. “What if you just took the 200 square, cut out the middle man and turn on the utility for us? It can’t be that expensive, sir. I figure it would only cost the town fifty square to run water for a month. You’d be turning a profit of… Let me do the conversion.�

Teller was a smart kid. He had been in charge of paying the bills in his home, back in our town. One day, his bills suddenly increased sharply. He went down to city hall to learn why his utilities cost so much, and found out to run water to our town, it cost the government next to nothing. They were price gouging.

“You’d make 125 machts easy this way.�

McGinley stepped sharply to Teller. “Are you trying to bribe me?�

“No, sir, just offering to cut out the middle man.�

McGinley walked to the door.

“I don’t accept bribes.�

The door slammed.

“He still has my square,� Teller sighed.

McGinley’s face appeared at the window. “Your water will be on tomorrow.� McGinley turned to leave.

“One more question, sir?�

“What is it, Teller?�

“Where did you get those chairs?�

“I made them myself.�

“Oh, very nice. What was the fabric on them?�

“Tanned native skin. Goodnight.�

Teller took a step backwards. “Did he just say-“

“Yes.�

“Was he joking?�

“For some reason,� I paused, looking back at the straw mats on the floor, “I don’t think he was.�

-

Mal